The Willful Child

The wayward child is a Sage ( ATU 760 **). It is in the Children's and Household Tales of the Brothers Grimm in place 117 (KHM 117). In the first edition the title was from a wayward child.

Content

As a child his mother does not follow that God can suffer it incurable. In the grave there is always stretched out his arms and only finds peace after the mother it strikes with the rod.

Interpretations

As with many fairy tales, there are also various attempts to explain this. Here, for example, the child the fairy tale interpreted as the result of a failed education, whose will was broken and then 'dead' arises and behaves passive and dependent.

But it should be originally meant as a warning announcement before wayward children, for which there are many examples in collections of sermons (see Old Testament Proverbs 13:24; 4th Commandment ). The fact that children who beat the parents, grows the hand out of the grave, was a widespread belief (see Hans Sachs Vol 5, No 811; Brentano Wunderhorn No. 226a ).

See KHM 43 Frau Trude, KHM 109 The Shroud, KHM 145 The ungrateful son, KHM 154 The Stolen Heller; from Grimm German Legends # 137 The giant finger.